Airport Considers Expansion Options

AVIATION

Authority Wants Another Terminal To Handle Traffic

The underground people mover didn't make the cut. Neither did a cheap version of an airport terminal that looked more like a series of public bus stops.

So it went last week as the Greater Orlando Aviation Authority whittled down the concepts being studied in Orlando International Airport's multibillion-dollar terminal-expansion plan.

The authority undertook the study last year to figure out how to accommodate the passenger demand that is expected to use the available capacity at Orlando International after the turn of the century.

The existing terminal complex, which opened in 1981, was designed to handle a maximum of 24 million passengers. Last year Orlando International had more than 22 million passengers, and traffic is expected to grow steadily in coming years.

Richard Haury, an airport consultant, told the authority last week the existing terminal complex, with the completion of a fourth satellite terminal, could accommodate as many as 35 million passengers.

But eventually the airport's growth will require a second terminal complex, which probably would be located just south of the existing one.

What the new terminal complex will look like is still up in the air.

Last week the authority narrowed the list of options from 10 to three. Among the ideas that didn't make the cut was a concept that would have linked the main terminal with satellite terminals, where airplanes park, via underground people movers - an expensive proposition given the area's high water table.

Another that didn't survive was a plan for a relatively low-cost terminal east of the existing complex that would have used bus stop-like structures instead of a more conventional terminal.

Among the three ideas still under study is one that appears to be a near mirror image of the existing terminal complex. One difference is that the main ''land side'' terminal would consist of two buildings on a north-south axis. The existing terminal uses a single building aligned east-west. It also would feature a large central retail and concession area in a concept dubbed ''Airport City.'' In its favor is the success of the current terminal, widely regarded as one of the most attractive and functional in the world.

A second concept also features an Airport City, but the satellite terminals would curve around the east and west sides, making the complex resemble a set of parentheses.

The third plan would use four large terminal buildings and no satellite terminals. Gates and concourses would be connected by moving sidewalks.

All of the concepts include provisions for a railroad terminal that could serve a local passenger train or the proposed high-speed rail system linking the airport with Tampa and Miami.

It's uncertain when work might begin on a new terminal complex, but it's likely to be years from now.

And the existing terminal isn't completed yet, with the fourth of its planned satellite terminals still not built.

Plans for the fourth satellite terminal are under way, as well as for a new international arrivals center that would replace the current customs and immigration operations.

The menu of options for the new terminal complex should be shorter in a few weeks. Airport Executive Director Bob Bullock said he expects to narrow the list to a single concept by next month.

GROUND EFFECTS. There are changes in the works for ground transportation operators who do business at Orlando International Airport that would affect everyone from rental car companies to charter bus operators and private park and ride lots.

Among the possibilities:

Increasing the fees paid by more than 400 companies that operate 2,400 vans, minibuses and buses at Orlando International, and setting priorities for using the crowded terminal curbside on the upper levels.

Mike Mannix, the airport's assistant operations director, said charter buses handle just 3 percent of the airport's passengers, but clog up the traffic on the terminal's curbsides.

''There are four lanes of traffic, and they're all blocked,'' Mannix said.

Later this month, Mannix said, he'll propose moving charter buses from the upper levels to the ground-level ramps, which are less crowded but also less convenient.

Bus and van operators also could see higher fees, including companies that operate park-and-ride lots and shuttle passengers in and out of the terminal - and compete with the airport's own park and ride lot.

The airport may make it less attractive for rental-car companies to move their operations off the airport.

Because of disparities in the fees charged by Orlando International, fees cost companies with on-airport rental operations 11.11 percent of their gross revenues, compared with 8.64 percent for those with off-site operations.

Airport officials want to encourage companies to remain at the airport because it means fewer rental-car shuttle buses at the terminal, reduces the need for more curbside terminal space and means more convenience for customers.

The airport is considering changes that would eliminate some of the breaks now given to off-airport operators and try to narrow the cost gap from the current 2.5 percent to about 1 percent.